Fu Shifeng

Chapter 252 The choice of life and death
Jiang Chuliu looked at the neatly decorated Gun uniform on the wooden stand. He raised his hand and touched it gently, as if he had touched a sharp blade. He felt a slight pain and quickly retracted his hand.

Facing the unpredictable future, Jiang Chuliu felt restless and sighed helplessly.He is not a timid person.Even though he knew his true origin, he still didn't feel that he was the right one.

"It's not good to sigh at such a young age."

Suddenly a voice came from the side. Jiang Chuliu turned around and saw a burly man suddenly appeared, sitting on the couch and leaning against it, smiling softly, as if he was mocking his own incompetence.

"Who are you? How did you get in?" Jiang Chuliu asked in a panic.

The burly man raised his chin slightly to indicate the half-opened window.Although Jiang Chuliu himself had some rudimentary martial arts skills, and had been taught swordsmanship by Mr. Gu, he knew very well that there were so many masters in the world, and it was not difficult for a truly powerful person to quietly appear behind him.

Jiang Chuliu was very aware of his current situation and quickly advised in a low voice: "No matter who you are, there are many guards outside, so you should leave quickly! It would be bad if they find you!"

"Oh? When you saw me, didn't you shout and call the guard over?"

Taotie was a little surprised. He looked up and down at the young man in his early twenties, and then looked at the wooden frame on the side where Gon was wearing his crown: "Are you planning to ascend the throne and proclaim yourself emperor?"

When Jiang Chuliu heard this, his heart skipped a beat, and he raised his voice suddenly. He quickly waved his hands, covered it with his body, and said in a panic: "No, no, no, I'm not! You've made a mistake, please leave quickly!"

Taotie was amused by his appearance: "Is this the so-called Holy King? How can he succeed if he looks completely irresponsible?"

Jiang Chuliu came back to his senses a little, and still asked nervously: "You...you know everything? Are you from Zhang Lao's faction?"

"Well, that's right." Taotie replied with a smile and propped up his cheek.

Kong Yifang showed up earlier and informed Taotie about the rebel party's lair in Wuxian County, Suzhou before leaving, which shows that he knows the current situation in Jianghuai very well.

If Kong was willing, he could easily destroy this group of rebels.But he didn't do this. Instead, he left the life and death of this group of people to Taotie, which was also an act of sincerity.

"I haven't asked you Mr. Gao's name yet." Jiang Chuliu asked tremblingly.

"Cheng Sanwu, you are not a famous person." Taotie laughed: "Since you want to ascend the throne and become emperor, how can you be so humble? Didn't Zhang Su teach you?"

Jiang Chuliu cowered and lowered his head, showing no trace of the magnanimity a person in a high position should have: "Mr. Zhang did teach me, but..."

Seeing that Jiang Chuliu was about to speak, Taotie continued, "But you think he is having some wild whims, and you are also afraid that he will implicate you, right?"

Jiang Chuliu didn't dare to answer, and just nodded his head in a very small way.He knew very well that he was just Mr. Zhang's puppet. Before this incident, he, Jiang Chuliu, was just a county scholar, and he was not much better than others academically.

Taotie asked: "Have you never thought about removing Zhang Su after ascending the throne and taking over all the power?"

"Ah? Isn't this bad..." Jiang Chuliu was stunned, holding the hem of his clothes with both hands, too nervous to say a single sentence.

"It's boring." Seeing this situation, Taotie shook his head and sighed: "Zhang Su secretly adopted you, but kept a lot of secrets from you, and developed such a weak and timid character among ordinary people. How can he take on such an important responsibility?
"It would be even more short-sighted to just treat you as a puppet. You want to ascend the throne and proclaim yourself emperor. If what you say doesn't count, and you have a name but no authority, wouldn't it mean that you would be killed for no reason?"

"I, I..." Jiang Chuliu shuddered, almost crying: "Cheng Langjun, save me!"

Taotie raised his eyes and looked outside the house. He noticed the footsteps approaching and showed a smile. He stood up and came to Jiang Chuliu's side. Like the brother next door, he put his arms around and said, "Okay, I'll find a way out for you, so as not to be caught." How about rolling it deeper and deeper?"

Jiang Chuliu didn't care much, and nodded in panic. At this time, someone came outside the courtyard and knocked on the door: "Chu Liu, are you wearing the crown? Do you need help from your servants?"

The visitor had an old voice, and upon hearing it, he knew it was Zhang Su, the supervisor of Jiangnan East Road. Taotie was very interested and took the initiative to open the door.

Zhang Su had noticed that Jiang Chuliu was uneasy before, so he came here to persuade him as an elder.

At that time, he secretly adopted the child. In order to ensure his safety, he did not tell him about his origins for many years. He only gave him private guidance and secretly sent his confidants to take care of him.

In fact, Zhang Su had never thought about rebellion earlier. He just saw that the situation in the court was getting worse day by day. He could no longer tolerate it, so he secretly gathered people, cultivated power, and brought Jiang Chuliu with him to depose the emperor's heirs. In the name of helping him ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.

However, when Zhang Su saw "Cheng Sanwu", he was shocked and immediately jumped back and retreated two feet away.

"Do you need to be so scared?" Taotie smiled and stepped out, looking calm and calm. Looking at the look of surprise on Zhang Su's face, he could feel the unconcealable fear filling his heart, almost suffocating.

"What? Mr. Zhang doesn't recognize me?" Taotie looked calm and did not have an attack.

"Impossible! Did Gu Lianshan fail?" Zhang Su shouted crazily in his heart, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.

He knows Gu Lianshan's strength very well. Looking at the world today, there are only ten fingers on both hands who can compete with him. In terms of swordsmanship alone, only three people can compete with him.Cheng Sanwu is one of the ten Tai Sui of Gongchen Guard. Although he is strong, he is still far inferior to an innate master like Gu Lianshan.

And considering that Cheng Sanwu may have hidden tricks and helpers, Wengzhou Island is fully prepared and will definitely be able to kill him.

Zhang Su may not believe the promises made by others, but who is Gu Lianshan?Whatever he promised, he would definitely do it unless he died.

Thinking of this, Zhang Su's mind seemed to fall into an abyss. "Cheng Sanwu" appeared in front of him, which could only mean that Gu Lianshan was defeated and died.

Previously, he felt that there had been no news from Yuezhou, and was planning to send someone to ask. Now it seems that the situation on Wengzhou Island is far worse than he expected.

Moreover, looking at "Cheng Sanwu" looking well-rested, he didn't look like he had gone through a fierce battle at all. Could it be possible that he wasn't even injured when he faced Gu Lianshan?

"Jun Zhaoyang... why are you here?" Zhang Su suddenly thought of a possibility, immediately put on a questioning look, and asked: "Didn't I ask someone to arrange for you to go to Wengzhou Island? Have you killed the rebels? Leader? What's the specific situation?" Taotie watched him change his expression. It was more exciting than street performance or juggling, so he rubbed his stubble on his chin and said, "I was about to explain to you, Mr. Zhang, that there is no such thing on Wengzhou Island. As in the legend, there are a large number of rebels hiding in hiding. The villages on the island are empty, with only dozens of old, weak, sick and disabled people left."

Zhang Su frowned and Taotie continued: "I killed all those dozens of old, weak, sick and disabled. The only question now is, why are there no rebels on Wengzhou Island? Mr. Zhang, I suspect there are rebels in the Internal Affairs Ministry. The spies planted by the party were tipped off in advance so that they could be transferred by boat to go elsewhere. What do you think of this?"

"Is there such a thing? Then I will immediately order someone to investigate." Zhang Su quickly signaled: "Jun Zhaoyang has worked hard and traveled for many days, how about he go to the guest house to rest first?"

"There's no rush." ​​Taotie chuckled, waved to Jiang Chuliu who was looking confused in the room, hugged his shoulders and said, "Mr. Zhang, you might as well explain to me, who is this little brother? Also, What's the matter with that robe in the house? It seems like it shouldn't be here."

Zhang Su secretly swallowed his saliva. Although it was extremely cold in early spring, he was already soaked in sweat. He reluctantly explained: "His name is Jiang Chuliu, and he is a junior of mine. He will be promoted to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the future. As for that set of guns. Fu Mianqi was previously confiscated from a traitor's lair. It was based on this object that I concluded that the traitor's intentions were very big."

"Oh, that's it." Taotie looked like he suddenly realized it. He raised his hand and patted Jiang Chuliu on the shoulder: "Little brother, I'm not telling you, Mr. Zhang Laona devoted himself to the court, worked hard and worked hard all day and night. After ten years of hard work, you actually accuse someone of wanting to rebel? You also said that you want to ascend the throne and proclaim yourself emperor. Do you think I will believe this?"

As soon as these words came out, the expressions of the other two people changed drastically. Jiang Chuliu was so frightened that his legs and feet became weak and his whole body trembled. He only relied on Taotie to hold his shoulders to prevent him from falling.

"What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of?" Taotie shouted: "Stand up straight! Even if you want to rebel, if you straighten your back, you will be sent to the execution ground and beheading will not hurt so much!"

Jiang Chuliu never thought that the other party would suddenly change his mind. He panicked and cried immediately: "Mr. Zhang, I..."

Zhang Su's face was ashen, he gritted his teeth and said nothing. Taotie patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhang, I am the most familiar with this kind of thing. Once someone rebels against the party and is caught, he will often bite like crazy in order to protect himself. If you want to make me wait for you, as long as I use my full set of gold-sharing tactics, I will ensure that this guy will tell you everything about bed-wetting when he was a child!"

While Taotie was talking, he was grabbing with both hands. There was a dull cracking sound, and Jiang Chuliu threw one of his arms half a circle and was dislocated on the spot.

The heartbreaking pain made Jiang Chuliu scream, his eyes turned white, and he almost fainted.

"Shut up! What's your name?" Judging from Taotie's expression, he looked like a chef, handling a live fish that was twisting and struggling crazily: "If you don't want to suffer too much, quickly reveal the other accomplices!"

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhang! Help me!" Jiang Chuliu fell to the ground, broke his front teeth, and shouted frantically at Zhang Su, begging him to take action.

"What a good thief, you still dare to resist?" Taotie rolled up his sleeves, put his foot on the opponent's back, and cursed: "It seems that you won't shed tears until you see the coffin, then I will test how good you are!"

Seeing Taotie's ferocity, Zhang Su could no longer restrain himself and said, "Stop!"

"Huh?" Taotie slowly raised his eyes: "What does Mr. Zhang mean? Are you really colluding with this traitor?"

"If Mr. Zhaoyang has any requests, just ask, and I will do my best to satisfy you... Please don't make any noise!"

Zhang Su finally surrendered. He knew very well that the plan had been seen through and Gu Lianshan was defeated and died. Lord Zhaoyang did not expose it to his face. His true intention may be to blackmail himself and take advantage of the opportunity to reap huge benefits.

Taotie blinked when he heard this, as if he was thinking very seriously, and then looked down at Jiang Chuliu: "Little brother, I don't think you are the seed of rebellion. How about I give you a way to survive?"

Jiang Chuliu lay on the ground, tears streaming down his face. He was frightened and couldn't help nodding.

"Our Ministry of Internal Affairs came to Jianghuai to arrest the rebels. We must give Chang'an a clear explanation. It would be great if we could get the head of the rebel leader." Taotie said with a smile: "In my opinion, you Both Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhang are considered leaders of the rebel party. But there is no more reward for having one more head, so I plan to leave with only one. Do you think I should take yours or Mr. Zhang’s? "

Jiang Chuliu was trembling all over and his eyes were blank.Zhang Su looked at each other, and then said: "Jun Zhaoyang, I can order all parties to stop their actions now and give up the position of Jiangnan East Road Supervision Chief."

Taotie laughed when he heard this: "Don't worry, Jiangnan is so lively now. If you give the order, wouldn't it ruin everyone's fun?"

Zhang Su frowned, then realized the truth and exclaimed: "You want to plunge Jianghuai into chaos so that you can profit from it?!"

"If you say that, then it doesn't matter." Taotie kicked Jiang Chuliu: "Little brother, have you thought about it? My patience is limited."

Zhang Su, however, had no intention of continuing to entangle with the other party. He felt that the person in front of him was extremely dangerous, so he took advantage of the other party's distraction and jumped forward with the intention of escaping.

"Tsk."

Taotie let out a slightly dissatisfied sound, Zhang Su's limbs were broken out of thin air, and his figure suddenly fell to the ground, with blood splattered everywhere, like a painting scroll.

"If you don't run away, I won't be able to say anything." Taotie lifted Jiang Chuliu from the ground and helped him connect his joints. He looked at Zhang Su, who was still alive: "Little brother, did you see it? This is this person's His true face, and the lives of both of you, he decisively chose himself and abandoned you without hesitation."

Jiang Chuliu looked at the blood all over the ground, his mind was dizzy, and Taotie's words easily broke through his defenses.

"I said, only take one head." Taotie raised his hand, summoned Zhang Su's sword, put it in Jiang Chuliu's hand, and patted his shoulder: "As for which one of you it is, you make your own decision. .”

Zhang Su fell in a pool of blood, looking at Jiang Chuliu with a miserable face, knowing that his death was coming, he slowly closed his eyes and said with difficulty: "Let's do it."

Hearing this, Jiang Chuliu trembled, then shouted, turned around with his sword, and slashed at Taotie.

Ding.

The sword's edge suddenly paused, and its path was blocked by a finger.Taotie looked at the crazed Jiang Chuliu with a calm expression. He clasped his fingers and burst out with unprovoked sharpness. Jiang Chuliu was severely injured in the chest and abdomen, spurting out a large amount of blood.

"Oh?" Looking at Jiang Chuliu, who was bleeding profusely in front of him but not yet falling to the ground, Taotie showed a hint of surprise: "Originally, I planned to cut you in half, but I didn't expect... you arrived in time."

Their bodies were slightly staggered, but they saw a hand behind Jiang Chuliu pressing on his vest. The person who came was wearing washed white cloth, and it was Confucius Wen.

(End of this chapter)